The Heart Thief

by Richard A Swingle

  A faint breeze like a breath blew through the chamber causing Ilaria to shudder and one of the candles beside her on the table went out. Giulia walked over to it and lit it again, and as Ilaria looked up at the candlelit eyes of her mother she found herself feeling something completely unexpected. She hated her. She had been alive all this time and let Ilaria believe she was dead. She had been a heart thief, hunting down dragons and undoubtedly harming their human counterparts.

  ‘Why?’ The word slipped out of Ilaria’s mouth without even knowing to which question she sought the answer.

  ‘Where to begin, with such a broad question as that.’ Giulia scoured the shelves and came across a scroll, which she analysed before putting it back and picking up another. ‘Here we are.’ She broke the hummingbird seal on the scroll, unravelled the old piece of parchment and began to read.

  ‘The first dragon was tamed by Argentum Spés. It was an oddly cold night in Rome given that it was the heart of summer and Argentum, who had been there on business, travelled alone to an uninhabited island somewhere off the west coast of Tuscany. There had been rumours spread by local fishermen in the town of Castiglione di Pescaia, of a large bird flying high above the marble skies where the island sat. Argentum borrowed a small boat and spent a day and night sailing to the island. He beached up on a craggy rock formation and hiked up a hill, with nothing more than the clothes on his back. The dragon took one look at him and decided that he would make a fine meal but Argentum walked so carefully and thoughtfully towards the dragon that it did not attack, but waited, amused, to see what the tiny man would do. He held out his hand and touched the dragon on his scales, right where his heart would be, instantly creating a bond with it that enabled him to bend its will. Argentum had been a master negotiator prior to this day but there is still no understanding of how he learnt about this magic and it would be a magic that he would pass down for generations to come. From that moment on Argentum convinced the dragon to remain hidden from sight and to sedate the intensity of his powerful fire breath that was overheating the earth’s core. There were over twenty dragons in existence at the time and all of those followed the ways of Speranza. The volcanoes that threatened the land became dormant and the ash cloud lifted, revealing once again, the light of the sun.’

  Giulia put the scroll back on the shelf, unsealed. ‘The first time I read this scroll, I was not much older than you are now. It was written by one of the old librarians who was alive in the time of Argentum. I think it was then that the first seed of doubt was sown in me.’ Giulia took a step towards Ilaria who was in a trance, listening to and watching her mother. ‘I didn’t believe anything the heart thieves had told me when I first came here. But one day, thanks to my knowledge of its whereabouts, I helped them raid an old vault that stored the history of our family. This library is the result of that raid. Inside these scrolls are the arrogant truths of how the dragons were manipulated by our ancestors. Do you see how they are written, almost as if boasting of their achievements?’

  ‘Why?’ Ilaria asked again, hesitating once more to finish her sentence.

  Giulia smiled. ‘There it is again, your favourite question. Did you know Argentum was from one of the richest families in Rome? They owned most of the farmland around the outskirts of the ancient city, not to mention all around Sicily and of course, Tuscany. Their expansion was being threatened by the unpredictable seasonal weather.’ Giulia unrolled another scroll and ran her finger down the parchment to a column at the bottom. ‘Here, this is the earliest record of the productivity of the farmer’s markets run by Argentum and his children. In the months following his journey to the island to bond with Speranza, his businesses began to thrive. He profited greatly from the more predictable seasons that came about as a result of the dragons sustaining the temperature of the centre of the earth. But at the same time, the youngest and weakest of the dragons died, because for them to breathe fire is like for us to drink water. We may go a day or even two without it but eventually we would die of thirst. If a dragon does not release the scorching heat contained within them, they are consumed by it.’

  Disappointment was all Ilaria felt. But could she be so surprised at the greed of her ancestors? They were, after all, a mere reflection of everything she had come to learn about mankind. And so what if he profited from manipulating the dragon? Did he not deserve some reward for putting an end to the volcanic disruption?

  ‘But how can that be any worse that stealing the dragon’s hearts? You’re condemning them to death in a way that is far more brutal and unkind,’ Ilaria said, determined to understand.

  ‘Their magic hearts are dangerous and make them more powerful than they should be and it is the dragon tamers who have exploited that power, not us. The heart thieves were also farmers you see, some even used to work for Argentum. But when he had bonded with the dragon, he used his influence to send Speranza on a rampage through the night, burning all the farmland that belonged to those smaller families, eradicating all competition. But you won’t find that fact documented amongst these scrolls.’

  ‘But you’re after the same thing!’ Ilaria exclaimed. ‘You and the tamers are both trying to control the dragons, just not in the same way.’ She paused, frustrated and confused. ‘Is there such thing as the truth?’ Ilaria asked innocently.

  ‘Yes, of course, the truth is that you are my daughter. My own flesh and blood. I had you followed and stole the pendant from you. I’ve whispered in Speranza’s ear ever since you got on that ferry, making sure you would come here, because it was finally time for you to know the truth.’ She paused. ‘Truth, like history, is shrouded in confusion. Like when you see the facade of an old building being renovated. The face paints the picture of a certain period of time, long forgotten. Though it may be true that you get a feeling from it, an indication of that history, behind those walls, the guts have been torn out time and time again. The structures are reformed and new lives are lived. The stories that were once stored behind those walls are rewritten so many times over that the truth becomes a murky puddle where it was once clear water.’

  Giulia took the pendant from the table and exited through the library door. ‘Follow me, there is much for you to see.’

  Ilaria followed her mother through the door, which was then closed and locked with a key that Giulia wore around her neck. They moved on slowly through the winding tunnels that were illuminated by candles. The walls were covered in preserved charcoal drawings from across the ages. The one thing they had in common was that each drawing contained a depiction of families, living in the outside world together, as though they were reminders of another kind of life that took place above the earth’s surface before the heart thieves had settled underground.

  ‘We mustn’t move too fast through these passages, the draught our bodies make blows out the flames. There is far less air down here than nearer to the surface.’

  Ilaria felt like running and blowing them all out so she could escape but her fear kept her from doing so. Did she need to be afraid of her mother? She had created a surrogate for Giulia in her mind. But the woman she was with now was a stranger to her. Ilaria didn’t know any more if she was a prisoner or a guest.

  ‘Am I your prisoner?’ she boldly asked.

  Giulia spun round to look at Ilaria and laughed. ‘No, of course not. I’m sorry it must seem that way but you were quite unwell when we brought you here; the cell was a cruel place for us to leave you to rest.’

  ‘Are my friends okay? Have you killed them?’ Ilaria blurted it out as she thought how Giulia had no right to pretend she was a friend entertaining a guest, let alone a mother trying to educate a daughter.

  At this Giulia stopped walking altogether and placed her hands on Ilaria’s shoulders. It was their first physical contact and by all rights ought to have been more awkward, but Ilaria suddenly found herself feeling relieved, like an unknown desire to be held by her mother was being satisfied.

  ‘Listen to me carefully, little one, your friends
are all safe. There has not been, nor will there be, any killing as far as I can insist. The dragon tamers, like you, were drugged to make their capture far simpler. But no one was harmed unnecessarily.’

  ‘But I saw Diego get knocked unconscious. He was your friend, and once your boyfriend!’ Ilaria shouted at Giulia louder than she had intended and instantly felt embarrassed.

  ‘Diego will be fine, he is one of those people that always bounces back, no matter how often or how hard he is knocked down.’

  That sounded slightly like an old lover’s rebuke but Ilaria chose to ignore it. Instead she continued walking and asked her mother question after question as they wandered through the underground maze together. They tramped on for what seemed like hours. Ilaria saw many of the other heart thieves resting, playing with their children. There was even a small school they passed where Giulia explained how their existence remained so secret that they could not send their children above ground to interact with the rest of the people who lived there.

  Eventually they walked past a series of cells, not unlike the one Ilaria had been kept in. There were dozens of people lying asleep.

  ‘You see, here are your friends, safe and sound.’

  ‘I never even met any of them,’ Ilaria said woefully. Everyone was a stranger to her now. She didn’t know who to trust or believe. Diego wasn’t there but in the very last cell she saw Alice and ran over to her. ‘Alice, you’re alive! Are you okay?’

  There was no response.

  ‘Ilaria, she is resting, she was given a far stronger dose than you were, but I promise we will see her when she is better.’ The tone in Giulia’s voice implied that she dreaded that moment.

  Giulia led Ilaria away from the cells and into a chamber where dozens of people were meeting. It seemed like an official gathering was taking place.

  ‘Look,’ Giulia said. ‘They are deciding what must happen next.’

  ‘But, don’t they have a plan already? Surely you have thought this through.’

  ‘Every single pendant containing a fragment from the dragons’ hearts has been taken and locked away. Now we must figure out what comes next. Remember what I told you about truth. We are lucky if we have just a fraction of it. But one thing I can tell you; the time for the tamers using dragons for their own selfish gain has come to an end.’

  ‘So you plan to use them instead? How is that any better? And for what? Some sort of revenge for these farmers? You’re not even really one of them,’ Ilaria said, devastated.

  Giulia took a deep sigh. ‘My creed is right action, not the misguided actions of the family I was born into. Ilaria, the tamers are not your creed either. Surely you must see that.’

  ‘I just see two sets of people on either side of an argument. The dragons are stuck in the middle, they’re just a tool for you to abuse. If you keep their second hearts they’ll die. I dreamed that Speranza would have granted me a wish to save Grandad but in turn the dragon would die. And I couldn’t let it.’ Ilaria felt lost in the maze of this underground world.

  Giulia’s expression changed. For the first time since learning of her father’s death she began to acknowledge it. ‘Another fairy tale, hummingbird. There are no wishes to be granted.’

  ‘How did you know he called me that?’ Ilaria asked.

  ‘It was his name for you before you were born. Your father and I took the sonogram to show my parents and when he saw you in the picture of my womb he called you hummingbird. That was a good day.’

  Ilaria wanted to cry. She missed her grandfather dreadfully. Gazing around the room at all the heart thieves she began to wonder who these people were. Beneath those disguises were mothers, daughters, fathers, sons and grandparents. People willing to sacrifice their own lives to protect the planet. Even if it meant living as hermits underground, being mistaken for horrid monsters all these years, they had spent their lives, dedicated to this moment. The icy chill that was covering the ground above had been Speranza’s doing, and now he was going to suffer for it. But these people had suffered too. It all made Ilaria feel very sad.

  ‘Something I still don’t understand,’ Ilaria started. ‘How did you survive the plane crash that day?’

  Giulia had long prepared herself for that question. She tried her best to answer it but as she went to speak a lump lodged in her throat so she coughed. Her admission came next. ‘I was never on the plane. I had argued with your grandfather the day before the trip and so the next morning I decided to disappear and leave them alone. Your father and grandmother went on without us but my dad stayed behind, in case I came back. It was that same day that the heart thieves came for me. I fought them hopelessly and wouldn’t listen to reason, until eventually I allowed them to explain what had happened and they told me about the plane crash. They allowed me to mourn in peace for several days, though I could not leave. I was shocked to discover that they were human and though I remained their prisoner for a while, they eventually welcomed me as one of them.’

  ‘You fell for their trap and now you lead them?’

  ‘No, there is no leader. We are just a community who unravelled the lies of the powerful and the rich.’

  ‘Why did you argue with Grandad?’ Ilaria asked.

  Giulia sighed. ‘Well, my mother was preparing to hand over the dragon bond to me, but I told her that I didn’t want it. It didn’t feel right, being in control of such power. So, I decided I wanted to sever the bond. She called me a traitor, that is why the heart thieves wanted me so badly. They must have known somehow that I felt that way.’

  ‘You’re a hypocrite. You do want to control them, by taking all the pendants and Speranza’s heart.’

  ‘Only to keep them safe. They shan’t be used or exploited. Speranza is too strong, it’s a necessary sacrifice.’

  ‘That’s ridiculous, you’ll get greedy. Everyone always becomes greedy in the end!’

  It sounded laughable to say out loud. Ilaria knew she sounded like a foolish child at that moment, but it made the thought clearer in her mind.

  Ilaria spoke again. ‘You left me when I was only a baby, just to fight some stupid cause.’

  Giulia looked down, ashamed. ‘It’s the hardest thing I have ever done. I knew you would not forgive me but I heard that your grandfather had taken you back to England and told you I was killed in the accident. I guess I thought it was for the best that you believed I was gone, until now.’

  Ilaria realised then that her grandfather would have known that his daughter was still alive. He must have decided to make her dead in his own mind and so make her dead for Ilaria as well. Another lie. When would it stop, all the lies and deceit? Human beings truly were despicable if they couldn’t even tell the truth to the ones they supposedly loved.

  Giulia continued her confession. ‘I know you will never forgive me, but I always—’

  She was cut short suddenly as a panicked man ran through the chamber shouting. It was another heart thief, but this one was delirious.

  ‘He’s dead! Luca is dead, the dragon crushed him.’

  ‘Calm down,’ shouted one of the gathered party from the centre of the chamber. ‘Explain yourself, slowly.’

  ‘I don’t know what happened, but after we cast the net, the dragon managed to roll onto Luca’s sword, I think it went unconscious as the heart became dislodged but it crushed Luca in the process. I’m sorry but, I ran away and hid.’

  It was Ilaria’s mother who stepped forwards then to speak.

  ‘Which dragon was it? Please don’t tell me it was Speranza.’

  The man didn’t need to reply, the look on his face was enough.

  ‘Of course it was, and what of the heart? Do you have it?’ Giulia sounded more panicked than the man now. But he simply shook his head ashamed.

  Then a blinding rage of energy swirled and spun Ilaria like a top, and she fell to the ground.

  Ilaria was dizzied by the intrusion but gathered her strength, got to her feet and ran to the corner of the chamber as instructed. All eyes
throughout the room focused on her. Giulia looked at Ilaria confused, and for a moment she saw how afraid her daughter was. She felt a great deal of love for her, but then she suddenly realised what was happening.

  ‘Ilaria…’ Giulia stepped slowly towards her as the chamber walls began to shake.

  ‘Mum, no, get down!’ Ilaria screamed. But before she had finished her warning, Speranza had broken through the ground at the centre of the chamber sending dust and debris flying, covering everyone and everything. The heart thieves were thrown soaring across the hall as boulders cascaded around the room. Ilaria tried to blink the dust from her eyes and watched through a tearful stare as she saw her mother thrust to the side like a rag doll. But before Ilaria could see where she fell, the flames of the candles blew out and her vision was stolen by the dirt that flew towards her like a sandstorm in the night.

  17

  Darkness can be a comfort at times. When we wrap ourselves up peacefully at night under warm, soft blankets. But when we are involuntarily plunged into obscurity and trapped under rocks and earth, darkness is the scariest place of all.

  Ilaria thought how this would be the worst way to die, to starve slowly in a tiny, pitch black corner of a cave. How long would it take? Hours? Days? Surely not weeks. She dare not try and open her eyes as she knew there would be no light to guide her and her face was so covered in dust that it would sting unbearably.

  Ilaria tried to roll to her side and, moving her hand slowly, reached out to release her elbow from under her chest. She was pinned down from all sides. She felt a heavy, wet weight on her shin. A boulder was lodged against her leg and it felt numb. She wondered if the wet feeling was blood. Ilaria used her slightly free arm to scrabble around to try and pull herself into a small gap in front of her.

  She could barely move, but against her fingertips she could feel a solid object. It was metallic and attached to a chain. The pendant, she thought, and stretched towards it to grapple it towards her. Her body hurt but she managed to get a full grip around the pendant and then she felt a rush through her body like a breeze. But not against her skin, within it.